Year in Review: After showing promise in a brief big-league stint in 2007 with the Phillies, Bourn delivered on it in 2009. A virtual Juan Pierre clone at the plate, Bourn stole 61 bases in 73 chances while hitting .285/.354/.384 in 678 trips to the dish. He also scored 97 runs while hitting leadoff for a potent Astros’ offensive attack. Not that it matters, but Bourn also hit three dingers and drove in 35 runs. Bourn preyed on the fastball, but he struggled with hitting the breaking balls. This is not out of the ordinary for a young player, especially for someone like Bourn, who hits the ball on the ground.

The Year Ahead: Even though the Astros are under new management, Bourn should have the green light almost every time he reaches base in 2010. His average should stay close to .280, as his .367 BABIP was surprisingly lower than expected based on his batted-ball data and speed. As long as he is reaching base, he will provide a boat load of steals and runs, as the Astros’ lineup won’t take too much of a dip in ’10. If his average bottoms out for some reason, he will still steal plenty of bases, similar to his ‘08 season (.229 average, 41 steals). If that happens, you’ll have to weigh the downside of him killing your batting average with your team’s need for steals. (Zach Sanders)

Profile: The first three full seasons of Bourn's career have been a bit of a mixed bag. His .276 wOBA in 2008 was light on AVG (.229) but heavy on steals (41), but then his breakout 2009 effort (.342 wOBA) offered both AVG (.285) and steals (61). The 2010 season was closer to 2009 than 2008, a .265 AVG with 52 steals. Bourn has zero power (.085 ISO career) and won't drive in any runs at the top of the order, but he'll give you a solid amount of runs scored and no worse than a decent AVG, and of course an elite level of stolen bases. Watch his ground-ball rate, if he continues to beat the ball into the ground and use his speed, he'll be fine. If he starts putting close to 25% of balls in play into the air again, then the BABIP (and AVG) will suffer. Bourn is worth a high pick on steals along, and at age 28 he should be right in the prime of his fantasy value years. (Mike Axisa)

The Quick Opinion: Bourn is going to give you steals and lots of them, guaranteed, but his output in the other traditional categories has been all over the place in recent years. Luckily, the steals alone make it worth carrying him.

Profile: Bourn was seen as a pure stolen base specialist when the Astros gave him a full-time role in before the 2005 season, and his batting average only reinforced that image. However, he has since proven that he can provide owners with a decent batting average despite a lack of power and a merely average strikeout rate. Bourn has hit over .280 in two of the past three seasons, and he’s even taken walks and provided value to owners playing in OBP leagues. He was already scoring 90 runs a year with the Astros, so moving to a more potent Braves lineup will help him cross the plate even more often. Bourn is still on the right side of 30, so he still has the ability to essentially carry your stolen base category in roto leagues as long as Atlanta lets him do his thing on the basepaths. (Zach Sanders)

The Quick Opinion: Bourn can carry your stolen base category, despite his narrow, slight shoulders. He’ll also hit at least .275 and score about 100 runs, making him a relatively low risk piece of your roster.

Profile: Michael Bourn had a power surge last year -- his nine home runs and .117 isolated slugging percentage far outpaced any effort he'd put up in those categories before -- but the net effect might not have been what real-life teams wanted for the center fielder. Because while adding that modest power, Bourn struck out at a career-worst rate. And that strikeout rate has gotten worse over the last three years. If it continues its trajectory, the strikeout rate will have more of an impact on his batting average. Since the difference between five and ten home runs probably won't make the same impact as the difference between hitting .265 and hitting .285, you can see how Bourn's fantasy value is just as up in the air as his real-life one. In the right park, atop the right lineup, he might actually cross double-digits in home runs, while adding elite runs and stolen base totals. And if your league mates have been thinking about his real-life value too much, maybe he'll be cheaper than he should be in your fantasy league. (Eno Sarris)

The Quick Opinion: Wherever he ends up, Michael Bourn will be an elite one-category player. It's those other categories -- and his destination -- that will determine the intricacies of his fantasy value.

Profile: There are fantasy players who don't believe in paying for speed and there are those who think that if you can get your speed along with a solid average and a bunch of runs, you go for it. Those owners probably went after Michael Bourn this year and boy were they disappointed. Bourn stole only 23 bases this year, the first time he failed to crack 40 in the category since 2007. He also added on his lowest average (.263) since 2008, and his fewest runs (75) since that same year. Bourn posted one of his worst defensive years ever, which doesn't matter to fantasy owners but is awfully concerning to Indians fans. Bourn did show a .338 batting average on balls in play, despite a down-turn in his line drive rate, so that wasn't the problem. But his strikeout rate hit a career high, his stolen base success rate dropped a ton, and there is good reason to believe that things may get worse. His K% has risen three straight years and the combination of worse defensive and lower SB% suggests his speed is starting to leave him. He may bounce back, but I'd expect another mid-20s SB effort with other numbers that look more like 2013 than the rest of his career. (Chad Young)

The Quick Opinion: Bourn put up a much worse season than fantasy owners expected, and his real value dropped even more than his fantasy value. With fewer steals (and a lower success rate) and a higher strikeout rate, you have to wonder if Bourn's days as an elite fantasy speed option are over.

Profile: Michael Bourn appears to be losing the one thing that once made him a fantasy asset: his speed. When he came over to Cleveland in 2013, he was a year removed from stealing 42 bases and two years removed from stealing 61. In two years with the Indians, he's swiped just 33 combined, and been thrown out 18 times. His 2014 Speed score was the lowest of his career, and his rate of infield hits has plummeted. He's dealt with two unrelated injuries to his left hamstring in those two years, and at 32 years old, it's hard to see the days of 40+ steals coming back. Without the stolen bases, Bourn becomes a singles hitter, now past his prime, who strikes out too much and doesn't get on base enough for a leadoff hitter. Manager Terry Francona likes him in that spot, so as long as he's healthy he'll rack up at-bats, which come along with runs, but if he ever gets moved down in the order it would be hard to find anything appealing about him -- for fantasy purposes. Bourn's ceiling is probably something like an empty .270 batting average with 25 steals and 85 runs. (August Fagerstrom)

The Quick Opinion: Bourn used to be a solid fantasy pick because of his steals, but hamstring injuries and aging have sent his speed into a rapid decline, as well as his fantasy value. He'll still lead off for the Indians when healthy and rack up at-bats and runs, but Bourn is no longer the fantasy asset he once was.

Profile: With his power and on base skills greatly diminishing in his 30's, Michael Bourn has gone from fantasy stud to dud quite quickly. His last quality fantasy season was his last season in Atlanta in 2012, when he stole 42 bases and hit nine home runs. His tenure with the Indians was forgetful and is back in Atlanta in a much more crowded outfield. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Bourn produces enough to earn a good deal of playing time as the left-handed portion of a platoon in Atlanta, but the odds are against him being anything more than a fourth, and maybe even a fifth, outfielder. He is worth looking at in deeper NL-only leagues solely because he does possess arguably the most sought after fantasy attribute -- speed. There is a good shot Bourn is on another roster this spring just like the player he was traded for (Chris Johnson) currently is. I would not expect much out of Bourn but I do think he's someone to monitor throughout spring training to see how the Braves will use him. If you are in an on-base percentage league, you could worse than a .315-.320 OBP with speed, if the league is deep enough. (Ben Duronio)

The Quick Opinion: Bourn is not much of a fantasy asset anymore, but if the Braves or another team are going to give him regular playing time, his speed makes him worth a look in some deeper formats.

Profile: Bourn re-signed with Baltimore, after spending most of 2016 in Arizona, before embarking upon a brief stint with the Orioles. Bourn's fantasy value was always based on stealing bases, but at 34 years old, he doesn't offer much in that department anymore, with just 42 total steals in his last three seasons. Even if he makes the O's roster as a bench piece, it's highly unlikely that the former speedster regains his wheels in his mid-30s. (Scott Strandberg)

The Quick Opinion: It's been five years since Bourn was a consistent fantasy contributor. Don't expect that to change in 2017.

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